1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising a spray shielding panel arranged below a windshield, two A-pillars, and a crossbeam which is arranged, running substantially horizontally, in front of said spray shielding panel between said A-columns, and further comprising a support between said crossbeam and said spray shielding panel, by means of which said crossbeam is protected against buckling in the event of an impact.
2. Prior Art
A motor vehicle of this kind is commonly known. The crossbeam and the two A-columns are components of the body of the motor vehicle in the region of the windshield. The crossbeam is arranged between the two A-columns and is attached to them laterally by means of mounts provided on the crossbeam. The "A-columns" are understood to mean the two members, extending substantially vertically from the roof of the motor vehicle approximately to the floor of the body, between the upper sections of which the windshield is enclosed laterally, and on the lower sections of which are mounted, among other things, the front doors of the motor vehicle.
The crossbeam is arranged at a certain distance (a few centimeters) in front of the spray shielding panel. The spray shielding panel, which is arranged below the windshield, constitutes a partition between the engine compartment and passenger compartment of the motor vehicle.
Several different receiving elements are either welded or bolted on, or attached in some other manner, to the crossbeam. These receiving elements include mounts for the instrument panel, for the center console, for the steering column which carries the driver-side airbag, and for the passenger-side airbag.
One particularly important element of the motor vehicle cited initially is the support between the crossbeam and the spray shielding panel of the motor vehicle. This support is intended, in the event of a crash (or more precisely in the event of an impact on the motor vehicle in the direction of travel), for example in the event of a frontal collision, to prevent the crossbeam from buckling toward the spray shielding panel. For safety reasons, however, buckling of the crossbeam, in particular in the region of the mount for the driver-side or passenger-side airbag, must be prevented in the event of an impact, since in the event of buckling of the crossbeam, said mounts could be moved out of their defined position and the airbag or airbags would then open in a direction other than the intended direction. Provision of the support between the crossbeam and spray shielding panel prevents buckling of the crossbeam in the event of an accident, so that the mounts for the airbags maintain their defined positions and the airbags open in the correct position.
In the case of the commonly known motor vehicle cited initially, the support consists of a solid angle iron, welded or bolted onto the crossbeam in the region of the driver side or passenger side, the free arm of which is attached to the spray shielding panel. For this, there is provided in the free arm of the angle iron a pot-shaped opening, called the "gluepot," into which a hardening adhesive, for example a resin, is introduced, and into which a retaining bolt passing through the spray shielding panel is then inserted and, after the adhesive has cured, is permanently joined to the angle iron; or the angle iron is permanently bolt-mounted.
With this known type of support, the crossbeam is thus permanently joined to the spray shielding panel, after installation, in the region of the support.
This type of support is, however, disadvantageous if, for example, the instrument panel in the motor vehicle needs to be replaced. With present-day motor vehicles, in the event of a defect in an instrument of the instrument panel, it is usual for cost reasons to replace the entire module consisting of crossbeam and instrument panel, rather than replacing only the individual defective instrument. With the known configuration of the support, however, removal of the crossbeam together with the instrument panel is associated with considerable labor and requires the use of special tools, since in some cases the adhesive bond between the support secured to the crossbeam, and the spray shielding panel, must be undone if the support is not bolted but rather welded onto the crossbeam.
An even more serious disadvantage results when the replacement module, consisting of crossbeam and instrument panel, is installed. The manufacturing tolerances of the crossbeam plus instrument panel are generally a few millimeters. The result of these tolerances is that when the replacement crossbeam is installed, the position of the support previously attached to the crossbeam no longer coincides with the position at which the retaining bolt is guided through the spray shielding panel, but rather, in accordance with the tolerance, can deviate considerably from that position. The result is that the support can no longer be attached to the spray shielding panel. Attachment is, however, necessary with this known type of support, since otherwise vibrations would cause undesired noise which greatly impairs driving comfort. Manufacturing tolerances are also the reason why gluepots are provided in the known motor vehicles as the connection between the support and the spray shielding panel, since a threaded connection would result in complex mounts because of the component tolerances. Although consideration could be given, as a way to solve the problem, to accounting for manufacturing tolerances by correspondingly enlarging the gluepots, this is not regarded as satisfactory.